France: Dutch hospitality brand Zoku will open its first French property in 2021.
The property will be located in the 19th Arrondissement, in the Claude Bernard-MacDonald-Rosa Parks area. Situated adjacent to the RER station Rosa Parks, the new Zoku is less than 10 minutes from Gare du Nord by metro. Zoku will be part of a mixed-use development called Îlot Fertile, combining hotel, residential and office facilities in a garden city block.
Îlot Fertile is the largest-scale urban renewal project in the city, and is “transforming the area from its industrial past into a comfortable, green and connected neighbourhood to live, work and play”.
Developed by Linkcity, a Bouygues Construction division, this sustainable project will result in a zero-carbon neighbourhood – contributing to the urban sustainability goals which the City of Paris aims to achieve by 2050. Zoku became part of the Îlot Fertile development after winning the Reinventer Paris competition launched by the City of Paris.
The building will accommodate 129 Zoku Lofts over seven floors. Its social spaces will be on the first floor of the building, opening onto an outdoor patio with extensive greenery and a Pétanque court. New to the brand, and specially designed for the people of Paris, will be the Pentloft, described as “an intelligent hybrid of a living area, meeting room and an event space, spanning 194 square metres”. The new Pentloft, seated on the top floor of the building, will offer bright, flexible spaces, which open onto a private green rooftop terrace with a view over the city. The design creation of Zoku Paris will be in collaboration with award-winning and Amsterdam-based design company concrete.
“We are so pleased to be partnering with Linkcity to create this innovative neighbourhood of the future. The signing of this property highlights the appetite of municipalities and developers for an innovative, forward-thinking hospitality partner to help build communities, inspire neighbourhoods and most importantly, add value to their development scheme as an active place maker,” said Zoku co-founder Marc Jongerius.
Co-founder Hans Meyer added: “Our team has worked extremely hard to create solutions to the urban problems facing the citizens of our growing cities and we can’t wait to show our new concept and Social Spaces to the people of Paris and the world.”
DWS Real Estate has acquired the Zoku building from Linkcity through a forward sale. Chiara Randazzo, head of transactions France, Belgium and Luxembourg, within DWS’ real estate investment business, said: “Our mission is to deliver superior long-term returns. We seek competitive, sustainable returns through a disciplined investment process and take a rigorous life cycle approach. This innovative concept in a totally reconverted area of Paris, which also meets sustainability criteria, fits perfectly into our strategy.”
Zoku Paris will be the brand’s fourth European project – Zoku Copenhagen and Zoku Vienna are scheduled to open in 2020. “We continue to pursue a number of exciting opportunities with developers and investors across Europe, followed by the US and Asia. Our development team looks forward to meeting many more prospective investors and real estate contacts in target cities,” said Jongerius.
</p
